Thought-full English: Ms. Flinner's English Contact me: [email protected]
Welcome to Ms. Flinner's website, a springboard to jump off and investigate. On this site I've posted questions and rationales for each unit we explore, along with some of the assignments, some philosophical framing of what I believe teaching is, and some links to enrichment material.
I believe teaching is relational and communal; that is: it's a two-way street. In the classroom we build community.
We also build minds. The English class is not just a place to read fusty old novels! We do the important work of uncovering what it means to be human, and all the positives and negatives which come with that.
We also are busy gaining transferable skills; the kind of skills that work in multiple areas of life, not just in a single classroom. We practice close reading, we practice writing, all on the path to practice thinking. Because thinking is the true goal of education.
And constant thinking make us thought-ful (thought-full) people!
To get students to think, we read texts (fiction, non-fiction, drama, poetry, short story), media, and life to start conversations. We learn strategies that help us identify patterns, and then we examine those patterns for what they teach us about deeper understandings. Some texts are complex....and complexity comes in a variety of ways.
Some Other Important Ideas for English class: 1. Get used to ambiguity. In The Princess Bride, The Man In Black tells Inigo Montoya "Get used to disappointment." But in literature, there are multiple right answers! So you don't have to be disappointed. They simply have to be textually supported. Lots of thoughtful people can disagree about the meanings in texts, and neither has to be wrong. 2. Some answers are wrong. *Sad trombone: Wah-wah-waaahhh. Sorry. You can't make up something that isn't in the text. You can't assume something if there's no evidence. Even if you want it to be true. 3. Most things in the texts are intentional. Authors really do craft in symbols, use settings to convey mood, and do these things on purpose. (And you thought I was just over-analyzing!)
Toolbox: try these helpful resources:
Evernote a helpful app that can be a digital file cabinet, house daily schedule and to-do list, as well as be a note-taking tool. Cost.
SelfControl an app that will block Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Digg, Reddit, YouTube, Hulu, etc. so you can get your work done. you set the time limit. free!
Anti-Social NOW Freedom a fee-based app that blocks distracting websites. Cost.
OWL: Purdue University Online Writing Lab this site is invaluable! offers free resources such as grammar and mechanics guides, researching guidelines, writing process information, and MLA citation and documentation references.
Free Rice an on-line vocabulary quiz that donates 10 grains of rice to needy people in the 3rd world. wow: practice vocab AND change the world?! yes.
Vocabtest.com a vocab quiz site based on the Shostak text that our school uses. select the grade level and then the unit to study. free!
Kathryn M. Flinner Westford Academy 30 Patten Road Westford, MA 01886 [email protected]